With what a blushing grace he falls upon his knee And takes the lady's hand and whispers, "You are free." Ah! happy childish tales of knight and faërie! I waken from my dreams, but there's ne'er a knight for me; I waken from my dreams, and wish that I could be A child by the old hall-fire upon my nurse's knee!
[Illustration: A VISIT TO ELFLAND From the painting by F. Y. Cory]
Come, follow, follow me-- You, fairy elves that be, Which circle on the green-- Come, follow Mab, your queen! Hand in hand let's dance around, For this place is fairy ground.
When mortals are at rest, And snoring in their nest, Unheard and unespied, Through keyholes we do glide; Over tables, stools, and shelves, We trip it with our fairy elves.
And if the house be foul With platter, dish, or bowl, Up stairs we nimbly creep, And find the sluts asleep; There we pinch their arms and thighs-- None escapes, nor none espies.
But if the house be swept, And from uncleanness kept, We praise the household maid, And duly she is paid; For we use, before we go, To drop a tester in her shoe.
Upon a mushroom's head, Our table cloth we spread; A grain of rye or wheat Is manchet, which we eat; Pearly drops of dew we drink, In acorn cups, filled to the brink.
The brains of nightingales, With unctuous fat of snails, Between two cockles stewed, Is meat that's easily chewed; Tails of worms, and marrow of mice, Do make a dish that's wondrous nice.
The grasshopper, gnat, and fly, Serve us for our minstrelsy; Grace said, we dance a while, And so the time beguile; And if the moon doth hide her head, The glow-worm lights us home to bed.
On tops of dewy grass So nimbly do we pass, The young and tender stalk Ne'er bends when we do walk; Yet in the morning may be seen Where we the night before have been.
In a palace of pearl and sea-weed, Set round with shining shells, Under the deeps of the ocean, The little Sea Princess dwells.
Sometimes she sees the shadows Of great whales passing by, Or white-winged vessels sailing Between the sea and sky.
And when through the waves she rises, Beyond the breakers' roar, She hears the shouts of the children At play on the sandy shore.
Or sees the ships' sides tower Above like a wet, black wall; Or shouts to the roaring breakers, And answers the sea-gull's call.